Preliminary data, released Monday by the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute, NSI, showed that the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index is down by 1.5% in June 2011, compared to May.
In June 2011, the work day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 2.2% as compared to the same month of 2010.
In June 2011, compared to May 2011, the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index in the mining and quarrying industry decreased by 14.2%, in the electricity, gas, steam and...

Bulgaria's unemployment rate has seen a negligible drop in July 2011, latest data of the State Employment Agency shows.
A total of 315 375 persons were officially registered as unemployed in Bulgaria at the end of July, which is 2 962 fewer compared with the end of June.
The official unemployment rate figure is estimated at 9.47% of the workforce, or 0.09% lower than it was in June 2011.
Compared with July 2011, however, Bulgaria's unemployed are 26 600 fewer, the Employment Agency...

The "Dynamo" factory in the Southern Bulgarian city of Sliven, a leading producer in the automotive and machine-building industries, plans to invest over BGN 0.5 M to boost production capacity and meet the high requirements of the market.
A new phosphate coating line is scheduled to go online in August, marking the completion of the first stage of the plant's investment program for 2011, according to a media statement of the company.
The second stage will include the introduction of a...

The downgrading of the US credit rating by S&P is a sign the current times are not times for populism, according to Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.
Borisov made the comment for the Bulgarian "Trud" (Labor) daily in a phone call, saying those who must learn from the US debt crisis include President Georgi Parvanov since he has criticized the cabinet of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party for not increasing retirement pensions.
"This is a strong...

Electronics, IT, and services outsourcing are the sectors of the Bulgarian economy that harbor the greatest growth potential, states the major conclusion of a fresh study by Bulgaria's Finance Ministry.
The report of the Economic Analysis and Forecasts Directorate of the Finance Ministry in Sofia released Monday studies the performance of the real economy sector in Bulgaria in 2008-2010.
In addition to stressing the importance of improving production efficiency in Bulgaria, the paper also...

Romanian oil company Rompetrol has opened its 58th gas station in Bulgaria, amidst plans to boost its presence on the Bulgarian market.
The newly opened Rompetrol gas station is located on the E79 road, 10 km north of the Kulata crossing point on the Bulgarian-Greek border.
By the end of 2011, Rompetrol Bulgaria AD plans to open 5 more gas stations in the country, bringing their total number to 63, Stanimir Smilkov, commercial director at the firm, said in a statement.
All fuel sold by...

Bulgaria's capital Sofia will have some of the most beautiful downtown metro stations in Europe, according to Head of the Sofia Metropolitan Company, Stoyan Bratoev.
The subway stop near the National Palace of Culture will have on display inside a replica of the building and all downtown stops will be in line with the city's historical center.
The station under Lavov Most (Lions' Bridge) will have bas-reliefs of the lions. The one under the Maria Louisa Boulevard, near the current central...

Unilever Central and Eastern Europe has bought out "Darko", the second largest distributor and producer of ice cream in Bulgaria.
Unilever and the Balkan Accession Fund (BAF), Darko's current owner, announced the deal Monday, without specifying the amount of money the multinational giant will pay BAF for Darko and its brands.
The announcement says that Darko's 80 employees will become part of Unilever's team in Bulgaria. Darko will retain its staff and production for the Bulgarian...

According to estimates, 6.6 M tourists will have visited the Bulgarian Black Sea by the end of the season in August.
This means a growth of the number of tourists by some 14% with respect to their numbers in 2010.
According to the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism, at present the growth is over 10%.
In terms of nationality, increased numbers come mostly from Russia, Germany and Slovakia.
At the same time, the Institute notes that counting all the growth, some 70% of...

Bulgaria will not fail to feel the effects from the debt crises that have grappled the USA and the Eurozone, according to local economy analysts.
The downgrading of the US debt rating by Standard & Poor's from AAA to AA+ will lead to instability in global stock exchanges which is bound to reflect on financing and activities of companies in Bulgaria, according to Ruslan Stefanov from the Center for the Study of Democracy.
The analyst adds that this could lead to a slowdown in consumption...

Bulgarian capital Sofia closed down popular downtown Shishman Street for car traffic, leaving it open for pedestrians starting Saturday on through August 31.
The move is part of the renewed "Sofia Breathes" campaign and will feature a plethora of events to be held on Shishman Str.
All intersections of the street between the Narodno Sabranie Sq. and Graf Ignatiev Str. will be closed down too, except for cars of people living in the area.
Sunday the events will be of an athletic nature,...

Bulgaria features on the top 10 of destinations for adventure tourism among developing countries, a survey of George Washington University in Washington DC has found.
Among the developing countries, Israel, Slovakia and Chile have been highlited as the leaders in terms of adventure tourism potential, followed by Estonia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovenia.
Switzerland, Iceland and New Zealand have topped the list of developed countries. Canada, Germany and Sweden have been also...

Bulgaria's state-run power grid operator has threatened to sue in Geneva Russia's state nuclear company Atomstroyexport over delayed payments on planned Belene nuclear plant.
The government in Sofia however was quick to point out that this is not a counter-claim to Moscow's lawsuit at an arbitration court in Paris, which is again on due payments on the nuclear project.
"The action was described as a "counter claim" just because the two sums in question are similar," a statement by the...

Bulgarians, who pay the highest prices for mobile calls across the European Union, will welcome the new year with good news for lower bills from their mobile operators, the regulatory authority has promised.
Bulgaria's watchdog, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), will undertake steps to resume cuts to mobile rates and bring them down to and below EU average, Veselin Bozhkov, the regulatory authority head, commented for the morning broadcast of bTV on Thursday.
The cut in...

Bulgarian Gmail users can make low-cost calls from within the popular e-mail service to a traditional landline or mobile phone number as of August 4.
A year after Google enabled calling mobiles and landlines directly from within Gmail for US and Canadian users, the company expanded this feature overnight to Bulgaria and internationally.
With support for 38 languages, the international expansion of Google Voice's call-out functionality is expected to prove a resilient competitor to Skype...

The Bulgarian Cabinet created Wednesday a limited state company for the management of Balchik Airport, following up on plans to transform the idling military facility into an international airport.
The company, with capital of BGN 0.39 M, will be exclusively owned by the state, with the Minister of Transport (at present, Ivailo Moskovski) exercising the state's ownership.
Balchik is located north of Varna, Bulgaria's largest Black Sea city and the site of the country's two seaside...

Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister, Traiko Traikov, has requested a probe of the Commission for Competition Protection, KZK, into a possible monopoly on the jet fuel market in the country.
The information was announced by Traikov in a Wednesday interview for the Bulgarian, National Television, BNT, saying the probe stems from the case with the revoked license of the Lukoil Bulgaria company, which the Sofia City Administrative Court reinstated Monday.
The Minister pointed out the...

The lively Sofia Central Park, known as Borisova Gradina, named after Bulgaria's last king, Boris III, became Wednesday property of Sofia City Hall.
The decision was made by the Council of Ministers during their regularly scheduled meeting. With the decision, the Sofia City Hall is to manage and maintain the entire territory of the park – 33 hectares, part of which until now was owned by the State.
Last week the Sofia municipal council voted a proposal to begin managing 32.9 hectares of...

Driven by strong exports, as well as the good performance of the industry and services sectors, the Bulgarian economy has started to expand, but too weakly and unsteadily, a local think-tank has said.
Bulgaria's gross domestic product will grow by up to 2.5-3% in 2011, the experts from the Center for Economic Development stated in their quarterly report.
The economy expanded by 2% in the second quarter on an annual basis, down by 1.4% in comparison with the previous quarter, which marked...

Russian authorities have confirmed that the country's second-biggest bank VTB plans the acquisition of a majority stake in Bulgaria's cigarette maker Bulgartabac, local media reported.
The bank will most probably resell the holding after winning the tender, Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper hinted by saying that it is not clear exactly who the bank represents.
Austria-registered BT Invest, behind which stands Russia's second-biggest bank VTB, remained the only bidder for the Bulgarian tobacco...